NON-EXISTANT POSITION

02.10.2018

The furious leader, who got fired because of restructuring, turned his life into inevitable legal hassle. Even reinstatement didn’t help: carried away by struggling for justice, he forgot about the intended purpose.

The battle for the post

In 2015, it was decided to restructure the Office of Supervision over the Observance of Laws in the Criminal Proceedings of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Ternopil Region and it was changed into Office of Oversight in the Criminal Proceedings. Although, it would seem, such a small difference in the title, but it caused a lot of problems. The head of a reporting office, processing and analyzing the operative information, Taras Matiyek, lost his job. In exchange he was offered to choose any other vacant post, but he was denied to return him the armchair of the manager. Thereafter, he got a letter with an offer to become a prosecutor, however prideful leader has not reacted to the offer, by deciding that to be a simple prosecutor is beneath his dignity. T. Matiyek filed a complaint to the court about illegal dismissal. All 2016 year he spent in inevitable legal hassle, proving his rightness. The Court of First Instance didn’t upheld the claim, but in appellate court they were very favorable to the dismissed prosecutor and decided to reinstate him as a chief in the similar department. Also, he received more than 83 thousand hryvnias for period of forced truancy. The head of Ternopil Region Prosecutor’s Office considered that there is a major difference between these departments and they weren’t just renamed, but reorganized. That is why the reassignment from another department would be illegal. He appealed to the Chief Justice for the clarification. However, they confirmed previous decisions.

9 minutes of work

After receiving a decree about reinstatement, at the end of January, Matiyek came to the establishment and confirmed in writing that he received an order. The complainant himself claims that the prosecutor of the district refused to accept him and to acquaint him with the situation of the department and staff responsibilities. Also, T. Matiyek didn’t find his working place. That is why he hastily left the prosecutor’s office to write new claims on violations of his rights- cause of no possibilities to fulfil his duties attributable to leadership. The head of Prosecutor’s office, Vyacheslav Pertch has seen this situation from the other side. He considers that there were no desire to work from T. Matiyek. When human resources staff came to his home to give him an order about reinstatement, the gates were closed, the big dog was barking on the yard and no one came out of the house. That is why they sent a letter by mail. A disgraced worker came to prosecutor’s office only once after his reinstatement through the public office. And he were present in the building during 9 minutes, which were enough to confirm the receiving the order. Even without seeing his office, he decided that he doesn’t have working place. Ministry of Justice, in February 2017, decided that the court’s decision about reinstatement the ex-head weren’t fulfilled by prosecutor’s office and it didn’t pay the money. And the post, that were intended for complainant doesn’t even exist. The prosecutor’s office were fined for insufficient rush and in its turn the prosecutor’s office appealed to the Administrative Court, which canceled the penalty. The head of prosecutor’s office claims that he was ready to hire this person, as evidenced by order. There is also documentary evidence that the lawyer was asked twice to bring a labour card, but he ignored those calls. It was not possible to register him at work, and there were no possibilities to pay him salary, because T.Matiyek did not appear in the establishment anymore for unknown reasons where, according to the courts, he was so eager to work. “In case, if he would carry out his work on reinstated position, even in the absence of staffing, he would be charged to have his salary and allowances,” says the head of the prosecutor’s office. Or because of the problems that were made by the layer, or because it is unnecessary, but in April 2017. V. Pertch appealed to the General Prosecutor’s Office with a proposal to liquidate the department of T. Matiyek. The appeal was served, the structure was liquidated along with the post on which the complainant had to be reinstainted. The troubled man was freed again – for truancies.

Recovery of combating

For the umpteenth time Taras Matiyek filed a complaint to the court, and by his lawsuit were opened a proceeding, but decision in it is still not determined. V. Pertch claims that the amount of fine were counted in a wrong way, because they didn’t take into account the severance package which were already paid by prosecutor’s office to the ex-employee, and it is more that 11 thousand hryvnias and they exaggerated the amount of working days . According to the calculations, they suppose to pay more than 70 thousand hryvnias to the terminated worker. Now the fine is appealed in cassation. Also disciplinary proceedings were opened against the leaders of the Ternopil Prosecutor’s Office – V.Pertch and his predecessor. However, the disciplinary commission closed their proceedings and didn’t impose the penalties. T.Matiyek appealed these decisions to the High Council of Justice. Despite his desire to achieve justice, he did not come to the hearing. Instead, his opponent V.Pertch came. Pertch considers that the actions of prosecutor’s office are legal. After all, at the time when Taras Matiyek was dismissed, there were 6 vacant posts, and he was offered to choose any of them. He was warned 2 months before his dismissal. If he had desired, he could change his armchair and work further, and after updating through the court he also could work. But he chose the path of the trial. The high Council of Justice decided to leave the decision of the qualification-disciplinary commission of prosecutors active, and the proceedings – closed. Matiyek is a famous person in the region. If earlier in the media he was mentioned as the owner of large houses and numerous land plots, as well as he was in connection with no less numerous relatives-lawyers, now he is famous as a fighter with the system. In 2015, he participated in a competition for a position to the specialized anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, but did not appear for the testing.